![]() ![]() NCAR scientists will also be on the ground at Casper Mountain in Wyoming, using a spectrometer to observe light in the infrared spectrum to complement data recorded from the air. Data gleaned during the eclipse should also yield more knowledge about the properties and composition of Mercury’s surface. “Hopefully, we can get the equipment set up in advance, so it just does its job and we can get out and see the total eclipse,” said Seaton, who is bringing his family along on this business trip.īoulder’s National Center for Atmospheric Research, meanwhile, will be utilizing the National Science Foundation/NCAR Gulfstream-V research aircraft to record infrared measurements for about four minutes, also focused on the solar corona’s magnetism and thermal structure. ![]() He won’t be too deep into his instruments to enjoy the experience Aug. “We’ll have a complete set of observations that allows us to answer questions that normally aren’t accessible to researchers.” “Building these complementary observations of the eclipse allows us to do something we can’t do from space and can’t do from the ground,” Seaton said. ![]() Twin telescopes placed on the nose of each aircraft are expected to yield the best-ever, high-frequency images of the solar corona, to better understand why its atmosphere is so much hotter than the sun’s surface. He’s working in concert with Boulder’s Southwest Research Institute to chase the eclipse with two NASA WB-57 research jets. The first total solar eclipse to sweep the contiguous United States in nearly a century is being viewed by scientists as an opportunity to apply the latest tools of technological inquiry to an age-old phenomenon, to learn more about the universe in which we live.īoulder researchers will make a significant contribution to the work that will be done in the critical hour and 40 minutes that the moon’s umbral shadow tracks a swift course from coast to coast, sparking wonder in the eyes of those in its path - while providing a rare opportunity to those devoted to unraveling the mysteries of the fiery engine at the core of our solar system.ĭan Seaton is a solar physicist working as a research associate in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, a partnership of the University of Colorado and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ![]()
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